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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. file — a tool
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. file — a document
  9. wound — an injury
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spring — the season
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com